NBA draft shouldn't be Magic fans' main concern if GM search drags on

Some Magic fans are impatient. One of the fans’ chief areas of concern is the NBA draft, which looms on June 28.

But if I were a Magic fan, I wouldn’t be concerned quite so much that the eventual hire won’t have much time to prepare.

Two of the candidates for the job, San Antonio Spurs Assistant GM Dennis Lindsey and Oklahoma City Thunder Assistant GM Troy Weaver, already are familiar with draft prospects because of their current responsibilities.

Tom Penn, a former executive with the Memphis Grizzlies and the Portland Trail Blazers, should have some familiarity with draft prospects because he helped EPSN with its coverage of the recently completed NBA Draft Combine.

Jeff Bower, a former New Orleans Hornets general manager, ostensibly has had less exposure to draft prospects than the other candidates. But at least Bower has prior experience as an NBA GM.

The Magic’s eventual hire won’t go into the draft without support. Assistant GM Dave Twardzik continues to head the team’s draft prep, and Twardzik and the team’s scouts should be able to help as June 28 approaches.

Finalists to replace Smith could meet with the DeVos family as early as Tuesday. A hire could be made by the end of this workweek.

Magic CEO Alex Martins has said from the outset that franchise officials hope to make a hire at least seven to 10 days before the draft.

Orlando owns the 19th and 49th overall picks.

Not having a hire in place by June 21 would be dangerous — but not so much because of the draft.

The sooner the team hires someone to lead its basketball operations department, the sooner that hire can focus on finding a new head coach.

The Magic would be well-served to hire a new coach before teams can start speaking with free agents on July 1. The best potential midlevel-exception signees and the best potential sign-and-trade acquisitions will want to know who their coach would be before they seriously consider the Magic.

And the sooner the Magic have a GM and coach in place, the sooner the team can try and resolve the uncertainty that surrounds Dwight Howard.